[narrator] A new breed of
super machines is evolving.
Bigger, faster, smarter,
built to tackle
near-impossible feats.
Among them: a next-generation
airship.
>> We're ready to start engines
in the cockpit.
I love it! It's like driving
a racecar!
[narrator] Will this
experimental floating giant
forever change air
transportation...
>> It's the first time we've
built a ship like this ever.
[narrator]...or will it
crash and burn?
(Tim): Fire! Fire!
Pull up! Pull up! We're
about to hit the fence!
[narrator] We'll blow this
$35 million beast apart to
discover technological secrets
that overcome the impossible.
A revolutionary helium buoyancy
system that can lift 9 SUVs,
engines with the combined
power of a racecar,
landing feet to touch down
anywhere in the world.
We'll reveal how this
extraordinary airship evolved to
rise above all other machines.
Tustin Airbase, 40 miles
southeast of downtown
Los Angeles.
(man): It's OK, let it go.
[narrator] Inside this former
military hangar, engineers make
adjustments to a prototype
flying machine.
(man): OK, I'm ready.
Sounds good, guys.
[narrator] A revolutionary
airship. Her design could usher
in a new generation of cargo
vehicles, carrying everything
from food and military hardware
to humanitarian aid and cars
for less money than any airplane
in existence.
>> John, we're going to go
for another test.
Looks good.
[narrator] In 24 hours time,
she will make her first ever
test flight.
>> 3, 2, 1...
[narrator] This is the daredevil
pilot who will fly her.
>> I'm kind of a helium head,
so to speak.
[narrator] Corky Belanger,
one of around only 50 blimp
pilots worldwide. He's clocked
up more than 15,000 hours flight
time in airships.
>> After flying for 40 plus
years just in airships alone,
this is the pinnacle of my
career. This is... I'm really
looking forward to this and
making it work. The future
of lighter-than-air is resting
on what we're doing here.
In the next 20 years, I think
that you're gonna be able
to look up and see an airship
just as readily as you look up
now and you see an airplane.
I guess, in a sense, when you
get into something like this,
you're laying your butt on
the line, you don't know.
[narrator] In less than
24 hours, Corky will test fly
the prototype of what could
become a viable cargo-carrying
airship called the Aeroscraft.
This next-generation vehicle
is christened "Dragon Dream".
>> She's absolutely beautiful.
I'm really looking forward
to taking her out and seeing
what she'll do.
[narrator] Corky's flown
nothing like her before.
Built from 10,000 components,
her revolutionary buoyancy
system is filled with
$250,000 of helium.
Three 300-horsepower engines
thrust her through the sky
and 4 ingenious feet work like
hovercrafts to glide across
rough terrain.
She's a brand-new concept
to ship any type of cargo
cheaply across the globe.
>> To me, it's like Back to
the Future. It's really moder,
spaceshipy-looking. And yet,
you can go back over a
100 years, and a lot of that
technology is right here.
[narrator] The prototype
Dragon Dream weighs 18 tons and
is 270 feet long. But if she
passes tomorrow's test flight,
a production line could start
making airships over 3 times her
size: 920 feet long with lifting
capabilities of 500 tons. They
would be the largest aircraft
ever made.
>> This valve is disconnected.
[narrator] The responsibility
for getting this unique airship
ready for takeoff falls to one
man: 32-year-old Lead Engineer
Tim Kenny.
>> There's always a problem!
Nothing is ever perfect, right?
[narrator] He has never built
anything like Dragon Dream
before.
>> Before I came to Aeros, I was
building large robotic machines
that shrink-wrap cases of soda.
Now, today, we're building
a 270-foot-long airship.
You know, that pressure can
become extremely overwhelming,
especially being, you know,
kind of your first role.
[narrator] The man who is
applying the maximum pressure
is Dragon Dream's inventor.
Company CEO, Igor Pasternak.
Born in the Soviet Union,
he founded airship company Aeros
20 years ago.
He's secured $35 million
from NASA and the Department
of Defense to turn his vision
into reality. His reputation
is riding on tomorrow's test
flight.
(Russian accent): It's hard to
say... "What is your personal
investment?" It's everything.
It's my life. It's literally
my life.
And how are you going
to do tomorrow?
>> Oh, we'll be fine
for tomorrow.
[narrator] Airships were once
seen as the transport solution
of the future. Until things
went terribly wrong...
(explosion)
...when the hydrogen-filled
Hindenburg exploded in 1937.
Rather than using hydrogen,
Dragon Dream is filled with
helium, a gas that doesn't burn.
And Igor's big idea is
to reinvent airships
to carry cargo.
>> Perhaps some of the people
will think we're crazy.
And a lot of them still
think we're crazy.
And tomorrow will probably be
the day when the amount of
people who think we are crazy
will be significantly reduced.
[narrator] Igor hopes his design
could use the same amount of
fuel to travel from Los Angeles
to Chicago as a regular jetliner
would use just to get airborne.
And it needs no runways;
it could takeoff and land
anywhere.
If Dragon Dream works, its
low operating costs could mean
larger versions win him a slice
of the 5-trillion-dollar
air cargo industry.
If the test flight fails, his
$35 million dream will be over.
>> Alright! Let's rock!
[narrator] It's the day
of the big test.
>> I'm nervous, you know.
I'm very nervous, but trying
to control it, because I don't
want to be nervous and then
everybody else gets nervous...
So trying to be the guy
that's not the nervous one,
but my nerves are rattled.
[narrator] Dragon's Dream's
biggest challenge is
withstanding the stresses
of her first ever test flight.
Building her was a trade off
between weight and strength.
>> Weight is your number one
enemy. You can build anything as
strong as you want it to be, but
it won't float or it won't take
off. On this aircraft, you could
build everything as light as
possible, but then, it won't
take your loads when you look
at it from a cargo standpoint.
It would collapse.
[narrator] Structural failure
during the test flight could
lead to a disastrous crash
and endanger the lives of the
pilots. But Dragon Dream has
a secret weapon her designers
hope will stop her breaking up
mid-flight.
>> The skeleton structure of
this aircraft is a combination
of unique materials that we've
developed mostly in-house,
and then combined them in this
aircraft in a very unique way
to make it fly.
[narrator] Beneath the airship's
skin, 10,000 honeycomb aluminum
struts make up her frame.
30,000 precision-drilled holes
make them extra light.
Underneath her metal skeleton
is Dragon Dream's backbone:
520 lightweight carbon fibre
poles arranged in a structure
inspired by a world-famous
monument...
the Eiffel Tower.
It's an enormous building
that's very light for its size.
In fact, it weighs less than
the air trapped in a cylinder
of the same width and height.
That's because the designers
bolted the tower's thin iron
struts together in trusses made
from triangles, the strongest
structure in engineering.
Dragon Dream's 200 trusses
are even stronger.
96 special nodes join them
together.
They move just a few fractions
of an inch under stress.
Her rigid carbon fiber backbone
can flex without breaking,
and the ship shouldn't snap
in half in mid-air.
>> These nodes of the structure,
it's kind of like the spine
of your back. It's the cartilage
in between each vertebrae that
allows those vertebraes to flex
together without fracturing
each other. She's strong
and she's flexible.
[narrator] Dragon Dream's
designers have done all they
can to prevent a catastrophic
mid-air structural failure.
>> Am I nervous? No.
I slept good, last night.
[narrator] Now they're just
one hour away from finding out
if their design holds together
to make history.
>> You're ready to start?
>> I'm gonna be.
>> Let's do it!
[narrator] At Tustin Airbase,
California, the revolutionary
Dragon Dream airship is just
30 minutes away from her first
ever test flight.
>> The main PC's on,
the envelope monitoring
system is on.
[narrator] Pilots Corky and Igor
perform final flight checks.
>> PDFI calibration tab...
OK, that's over here.
>> You're ready to start?
>> I'm gonna be.
>> Let's do it!
[narrator] Lead Engineer Tim
briefs his team.
>> Today's the big day of all
our hard work. We're going to go
out there and see this aircraft
really go forward and do some
flights. Watch your feet,
watch for holes. It's dirty,
it's dusty out there.
Anybody have any questions?
[narrator] This is the plan:
taxi Dragon Dream out the
hangar, attempt takeoff for
the very first time then fly
across the airfield, testing
the airship's systems under
real flight conditions.
>> We don't want to hit
anything, so we need to be
very careful of what's going on
on the ropes. And keeping up
with your crew chief and stuff
like that.
[narrator] The flight's main
objective is to trial her
experimental buoyancy system.
It's called COSH, standing for
"Control of Static Heaviness".
>> The COSH system in this
aircraft is revolutionary. There
is not an aircraft in the world
that has this system on board.
[narrator] Traditional airships
need ballast to stay on the
ground when unloading heavy
cargo.
Dragon Dream is different.
She controls her own heaviness
by adjusting the amount of air
and helium inside the airship.
>> What we're doing here is
making a simulation for this
aircraft, proving that the COSH
system works on an open-air
flight. What we're doing
is using a large box here.
We're going to stick that in
the cockpit of this aircraft
with a simulated payload.
We're using leaded bags here.
And then we'll take it for a
flight, then we'll remove it and
the vehicle will stay stationary
on the ground after the flight.
Don't put them all in one end,
guys.
[narrator] To prove Dragon Dream
works as a cargo airship,
the COSH system must make her
lighter for takeoff and
then heavier when unloading
the box on the ground.
>> Don't make me do all
the work, guys. Come on!
[narrator] If the airship rises
during the unload, Dragon Dream
fails the test, and $35 million
of investment goes down the
drain.
>> I don't want it to fly away,
but we've done all the tests
inside the hangar and simulated
that so we should go outside
and everything should be OK.
(Corky): OK, guys, I'd like to
do a flight control check.
[narrator] 10 minutes to
takeoff.
>> Bottom right is 1.8 now.
It's adjusting up.
[narrator] Corky and Igor
perform final preflight checks.
>> OK, we've got 12 gallons,
12 gallons, 12 gallons. So we've
got fuel in all the tanks.
>> On.
>> OK, we're good to go, dude.
>> OK.
(engine starting)
[narrator] There's no turning
back now.
(Tim): Alright. We're moving.
>> We're moving. We're moving!
[narrator] The future of
aviation history could be
transformed if Dragon Dream and
her pilots perform flawlessly.
Just one hitch, and the test
flight could end in catastrophe.
(Tim): Nice work, Corky!
>> Roger that.
[narrator] 5 minutes to takeoff.
It's time to test if the COSH
system gets the airship
airborne.
(Igor): Start slowly, OK?
Remember your stage. You need to
do it slowly.
[narrator] Inside are 9 massive
bags made from a top-secret
fabric. They hold thousands
of cubic feet of pressurized
helium, which they can shift
in and out of her shell.
At the rear sit vital air
ballast bags that can change
the airship's buoyancy.
Their design evolved from marine
life. Fish control their
buoyancy through a unique organ:
the swim bladder.
As they move up and down
in the water, they shift gas
from the bloodstream in and out
of the bladder to keep their
buoyancy perfectly balanced.
Dragon Dream supersizes this
idea. Each of her 4 ballast bags
holds 900 pounds of air to weigh
the ship down and keep her
on the ground.
When Corky jettisons air from
the bags and feeds more helium
into the shell, the airship
should become lighter than air
and take off.
[narrator] Getting the COSH
system to this make or break
stage was a big challenge.
Two months ago, the team
installed it inside the hangar.
>> So now you can see we're
pumping in the helium here
and it's starting to inflate.
It probably takes about
30 minutes total.
[narrator] They threaded each of
the 9 pressurized helium tanks,
made from a top-secret fabric,
through a small gap in the
airship's frame.
>> We've removed one of the
structural components and we'll
be installing in this location.
>> We're going to lift. You guys
are going to push. Are you
ready? Hey, watch the harness.
ADRIAN RAMOS, production
supervisor: We don't want this
thing rubbing on any of the
sharp edges on the structure.
[narrator] A rip in one tank
could cause the airship to fail
mid-air, possibly resulting
in a deadly crash.
>> There are so many cables in
this structure. It makes it so
difficult for us to get in there
and attach these harnesses
to those nodes.
It might not be my life
depending on it, but somebody
else's is going to be in this
aircraft flying, and it's very
important that everything gets
covered and addressed the way
it should.
(machine beeping)
[narrator] Today, the COSH
system is ready to switch on.
>> There we go... Yeah!
[narrator] But Tustin Airbase is
a challenging location to trial
this unproven technology.
>> There's only so much he can
do in this short little area.
If we were out in the desert
to build this aircraft,
he'd have lots of room.
[narrator] The final approach of
California's John Wayne Airport
passes close to the test flight
area. Release helium too fast,
and the airship could shoot up
into busy airspace.
>> Can I release all COSH?
>> Go ahead, release it.
[narrator] An uncontrolled
takeoff could be disastrous.
Everything now depends on
9 pairs of critical valves
attached to the helium tanks
inside the airship.
Small pneumatic switches open
and close the valves' flaps
to control the flow of gas
into her shell.
But release too much helium,
and Dragon Dream could ascend
too quickly and fly into the
path of a landing airplane.
(Igor): Back to hover.
[narrator] One miscalculation
now could lead to a catastrophic
collision with local air
traffic.
>> OK, here we go, guys.
[narrator] The lives of the
pilots and Dragon Dream's future
now hang in the balance.
>> Hover, hover, hover.
Come on, baby. Come on, baby.
[narrator] Pilots Corky and Igor
are taking off in the pioneering
Dragon Dream airship. If she
successfully completes her first
ever test flight, she could
revolutionize the 5-trillion-
dollar air cargo industry.
>> OK, we're going to regulate
just to stabilize here.
[narrator] To leave the ground,
her unique helium tanks must
release the right amount of gas,
or the $35 million machine could
fly into the path of landing
airplanes.
>> OK, here we go, guys. Easy.
>> I am very easy.
>> That's it! It's working.
>> It's working?
>> You can hear it.
>> It's very good.
>> Come on, baby! Come on, baby!
That's OK. Let's leave it
right there.
(Tim): You're off the ground.
>> How's that, Igor?
>> Beautiful.
[narrator] It's a perfect
takeoff.
>> Oh yeah! Igor, we're
on vacation now, buddy.
>> Let's go fly.
[narrator] Now Corky and Igor
must prove Dragon Dream can
fly the full quarter mile length
of the test area.
>> Vector's coming up.
[narrator] The airship measures
260 feet long and weighs
18 tons. She needs powerful
engines to thrust her forward.
But conventional engines can
create vibrations that could
wreck the airship's frame.
>> Roger that. If everybody's
ready, here we go.
[narrator] So the team fitted
this airship with 3 ingenious
engines that should smooth out
the ride.
Their 6 cylinders are laid out
to eliminate destructive
vibrations...
an idea that began in car
racing. Early race cars
had a big problem.
In long races, their engines
shook themselves apart.
Engineers discovered horizontal
pistons moving in opposite
directions evened out the
forces inside the engine.
This reduced the engine's
vibrations and powered
the race car to victory.
Dragon Dream takes this
technology to the next level.
Her 6 cylinders, arranged
in opposing pairs,
produce 300 horsepower.
(clanking metal)
Their smooth running should
reduce the stress on the
airship's structure and keep
Dragon Dream powering forwards
through the air.
>> Coming forward, Igor.
Enjoy the moment, Igor.
Enjoy this moment.
[narrator] But any engine
can go wrong...
as the team discovered 4 weeks
before the test flight.
>> Adam, easy! You got slow
speed? Everybody is ready?
[narrator] When they performed
a routine trial in the hangar...
>> Servo, right engine.
>> Bryan, be very ready!
You're clear to start.
[narrator]...disaster struck.
>> Oh! Fire! Fire!
(fire alarm whooping)
>> It's good.
>> You guys want to shut down
for a minute the left engine
and hover. And let's get up
there and really check it out.
[narrator] Fuel flooded the
engine, and a backfire ignited.
>> If you're airborne
and you get an engine fire,
that's a critical, critical,
critical thing.
I don't want anything to catch
on fire other than my barbeque,
ever! When somebody says "fire,"
it's usually something happening
that you don't want to happen.
[narrator] A repeat of the
hangar fire during today's test
flight will be catastrophic.
Dragon Dream's been airborne
for 20 minutes. As Corky ramps
up the RPM, there's no sign
of trouble.
He can now concentrate on the
flight's next critical test...
steering Dragon Dream using
the airship's rudder-like flaps
called control surfaces.
Corky's commands must reach
the control surfaces as fast
as possible. They race
from his joystick through
the ship's nervous system:
830 feet of fiber optic cable.
Travelling at over a
120,000 miles per second,
they reach 10 pneumatic pistons
that move the control surfaces.
It's a system that should give
Corky super fast handling.
>> This aircraft is responding
to his inputs and staying on
position. I mean, it looks
great. I'm really happy
with what's going on so far.
[narrator] Dragon Dream's
control surfaces keep her
straight and leveled. But up
ahead lies the next big test:
maneuvering over a 100-foot gap
in a tall fence.
(crew member): This wind is
all over the place right now.
>> The wind's shifting on us
now, Igor. It's really
squirrely.
[narrator] Mother Nature is
pushing the airship off course.
>> We're dealing with wind
vectors coming around that
hangar, all of these buildings,
so the wind changes quite a bit
on us.
[narrator] The danger level is
rising. There's a real risk
Dragon Dream could collide with
the fence...
>> The damn wind's going in
the wrong direction now, buddy.
[narrator]...and her test
flight, end in disaster.
[narrator] At Tustin Airbase,
California, $35 million airship
Dragon Dream is half an hour
into her first ever test flight.
If successful, this prototype
could spawn a new generation
of airships that promises to
reshape the 5-trillion-dollar
air cargo industry.
(ground control): Are you going
to go up and over?
>> We're going to go, yeah,
something like that.
[narrator] Pilots Corky and Igor
must now prove Dragon Dream's
untested steering system can
maneuver her over a 100-foot gap
in a fence up ahead.
[narrator] Dragon Dream's
designers have equipped the rear
of the airship with a propeller
framed by 2 retractable shrouds.
The design should steer
the airship from the back.
It's an ingenious idea that
evolved from rockets.
Pioneering rocket engineers
faced a major problem: too many
of their designs lost control
during the slow takeoff.
In the late 1940s, they tried
something new: installing
a moveable nozzle to direct
thrust and a gyroscope in the
rocket's nose. If the gyro
sensed the rocket leaning
one way, it positioned the
nozzle the other way to shift
the engine's thrust and push
the rocket back on course.
Dragon Dream uses this rocket
steering concept in a new way.
Corky can move the airship's
shrouds to redirect the thrust
from side to side and rotate
them to nudge the tail up or
down. He should be able to turn
the airship on a dime.
(ground operator): Alright,
everybody, we're good to go.
[narrator] Lead Engineer Tim
Kenny is worried about how the
steering system will work under
flight conditions.
>> This is all new. I mean,
every time we do something with
it, it's new. And we're learning
things as it goes. It's the
first time we've built a ship
like this ever.
[narrator] The only chance
the team's had to trial the
experimental steering system
was inside the hangar, just
a month before the test flight.
>> OK! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
(Tim): Crotchety old man,
do you copy?
>> I got you, you young
springer! OK. We're going to
pitch down and then we're going
to pitch up. Is that correct?
>> You're going to pitch up,
then you're going to pitch down.
>> Ha, ha! OK, I'm ready,
I'm ready to go. OK,
starting aft engine.
[narrator] The system took
6 months and $30,000 to build.
>> OK. The oil temperature is
good enough to begin this little
thing we've got going here.
>> Copy that. Correct.
>> I'm showing full rotation
and full extension.
>> It's looking good back here.
>> OK.
>> Alright, Corky! Let's go back
and pitch down.
>> Executing pitch down.
I'm showing full extension.
I'm showing full retraction.
[narrator] Hangar tests were
a success.
But no one knows how the system
will work during today's test
flight, as Dragon Dream
approaches the fence.
>> If I go from here, I don't
have to drag the ropes over
the fence. Let me know when
everybody's in position.
(ground operator):
Ground crew is in position.
>> We've got some safety guys on
the lines just in case it does
something we don't want it to.
So what we're going to do is
kind of let the lines completely
slack. We'll still have guys
close by, needed if we want to.
[narrator] This is the most
dangerous stage of the test
flight so far. Innovative
steering systems can fail
with disastrous results.
Virginia, 1922.
US Army airship Roma
suffered a malfunction with
its steering mechanism.
The airship drifted towards
the ground. It hit high-voltage
power lines...
and exploded. 34 passengers
and crew died instantly.
>> Coming forward, Igor.
[narrator] On their approach
to the fence, Corky and Igor
attempt a gentle turn.
>> We're starting to drift
a little bit.
The wind's shifting on us now,
Igor.
>> Yeah, I can feel.
[narrator] Tim watches nervously
as the airship changes position.
>> The wind just shifted
90 degrees on us. We're not
going to be able to go over that
fence, Igor, with this wind!
[narrator] Strong gusts suddenly
push the airship off line...
(Tim): Careful, guys.
We're drifting hard.
[narrator]...overpowering the
experimental steering system...
(ground operator): Aft cushions
are coming down. Aft cushions
are not clear yet.
>> You mean they're going
to hit the fence?
[narrator]...and putting Dragon
Dream on a collision course
with the fence.
(Tim): Tail up, tail up!rator] ,
California, the revolutionary
Dragon Dream airship
is in trouble.
(Tim): Careful, guys.
We're drifting hard.
[narrator] Strong winds are
pushing her straight towards
a tall fence.
(ground operator): Aft cushions
are coming down.
Aft cushions are not clear ye.
>> You mean they're going
to hit the fence?
(ground operator):
Stay clear of the fence!
(Tim): Corky, up a little bit.
Tail up, tail up! We're about
to hit the fence!
[narrator] Pilots Corky and Igor
face a make or break decision:
crash land the $35 million
airship or power over
the 7-foot tall fence and
set down on the other side.
>> I don't have a choice, guys.
I've got no choice.
(ground operator): OK, we're
about 6 feet off the fence.
Yeah, you come forward.
[narrator] The airship scrapes
over the fence with just feet
to spare.
>> OK, we're clear of all
obstacles. Is that correct?
(ground operator): Correct.
[narrator] Touchdown.
>> It's very good.
[narrator] It's a relief for
Lead Engineer Tim Kenny.
>> Oh, let's just go 6 feet off
the fence. Couple of times right
there, it was pretty "woah!"
[narrator] It's time for the
next critical test. The airship
must taxi back to the hangar to
prove it can operate in areas
with rough landing zones.
>> I want to taxi forward.
[narrator] Corky and Igor are
relying on the airship's unique
feet for a smooth ride.
Each one is 26 feet long,
almost the length of 2 SUVs.
They're designed to reduce
friction between the airship
and the ground by floating
on a cushion of air.
They owe their origins to
a groundbreaking invention
from the 1950s.
A propeller, an engine and a
boat with rubber wrapped around
it. The propeller pushed air
down into the rubber skirting.
It was the world's first
commercial hovercraft and
inspired the Dragon Dream's
feet.
The fans in each foot spin at
3,400 RPM. They push air into
a soft plastic skirt, forming
a thin cushion of air directly
under the airship.
These mini-hovercrafts should
allow Dragon Dream to glide
across the roughest terrain.
>> We'll see how well
these cushions work.
(Corky): Alright, Igor, you
wanna have some fun? Here we go!
We're going to go forward now,
we got some room.
>> Go.
(Tim): How close do you want
to get to the hangar, guys?
>> Ah, 50 feet. I love it!
It's like driving a race car.
[narrator] The airship skims
across the uneven terrain
and comes to a halt outside
the hangar.
>> We'll stop and take
the box out.
[narrator] Only the final
and most important challenge
remains: unloading the
500-pound cargo crate.
To prove she's a viable cargo
transporter, her buoyancy
system must keep her grounded
during the unload.
If she floats up into the air,
she'll fail the test...
and put the ground crew
in danger...
like US Navy airship USS Akron
did in 1932.
Sailors secured her
as she came in to land.
Warmed by the sun, the airship's
helium became more buoyant.
Akron began to ascend out
of control.
Three sailors failed to let go
of the landing rope and were
pulled into the air as the
airship rose.
Two plunged to their deaths.
The other was saved in a daring
mid-air rescue.
If Dragon Dream's revolutionary
buoyancy system fails today,
some of the ground crew could be
in danger of a similar fate.
>> OK, go ahead.
>> We go to right...
[narrator] This is how
it should work.
Compressors inside the airship
should suck helium from its
shell into 9 high-pressure
tanks.
At the same time, fans help
channel hundreds of pounds
of air into ballast bags.
This should make the airship
heavy enough to stay grounded
when the crew unload the cargo
crate.
(ground operator): Make sure
all HPEs are enabled.
[narrator] Pass this test, and
Dragon Dream has a future as
a heavy cargo transporter...
>> OK, here we go, guys.
Any malfunctions, and
the airship will lift off
the ground, possibly hauling
the ground crew into the air.
The box is out. COSH keeps
the airship rock solid
on the ground.
>> Absolutely perfect!
>> Give me five.
[narrator] The mission
is a success!
>> OK, let's put it in the barn.
>> All servo off.
>> Off, off, off, off, off.
>> OK. Done!
>> Absolutely fantastic!
(crowd cheering)
That was great. It was
absolutely great.
In the cockpit, we had
no glitches at all.
No red lights, everything
was green. It was perfect.
>> Good! Done!
[narrator] The test flight over,
Lead Engineer Tim Kenny,
sets his sights on the next
challenge.
>> Can we go higher? Absolutely.
Can we go farther? Absolutely.
I want to keep flying, and keep
going and keep going. I want to
see it fly over peoples' homes
and that actually, you know,
people see it for real.
[narrator] The test flight is
a milestone in aviation history.
Production could now start on
larger versions of Dragon Dream
that will carry everything from
humanitarian aid to military
equipment all over the world.
>> Everything today was a
success. It really, really was.
I can't begin to tell you how
happy I am. I'm thrilled!
(laughing)
I'm going to go home for a
couple of weeks, play a little
golf, get on the boat and just
gonna think about... You know,
relax a little bit. And then,
after a couple of weeks, come
back and get into it again. You
can't put a fork in me just yet!
[narrator] Dragon Dream could be
the revolutionary cargo airship
of the 21st century.
It's thanks to steering
inspired by rockets...
feet that work like hovercraft,
super reliable 300-horsepower
engines...
a revolutionary buoyancy system
and a light, tough carbon fiber
skeleton that this airship
has evolved to rise above
all other machines.